Simplicity of a weekly menu?

[Madsen]

The 'do you wear a uniform' thread (http://www.simplelivingforum.net/showthread.php?1083-Do-you-wear-a-quot-uniform-quot) got me thinking about the simplicity of having a set menu to shop for/cook for.
It could be a weekly thing, or every two weeks, however you wanted to do it.

The idea of having a "pot roast night" or a "spaghetti night" is kinda fun I think --- it simplifies your cooking life, plus gives you something to look forward to.

You could also use it to create health benefits for yourself --- with meals thought of in advance you could make sure you were following a desired nutrition plan, i.e. having the macronutrient ratios you want, specific ingredient guidlines (i.e. eat fish x times per week, increase veggie intake decrease bread intake, etc.) ... also you could plan "treats" as scheduled things rather than impulse binging.

You'd be shopping just to restock your pantry, and could take better advantage of sales and bulk purchasing.

[Rosemary]

I've thought about doing this before, and even attempted to have themed nights, very basic themes such as legumes, chicken, etc. It doesn't work for me, though. I plan meals around seasonal produce and weekly sales in addition to our schedule for a given week.

[IshbelRobertson]

I'm usually a fairly spontaneous cook. I go to the shops, see what's available and then cook!

[Greg44]

We have tried this over the years - and it was successful, but we have slipped away from the routine. Especially now with only one dd at home - who is an extremely picky eater...dw and I both hate cooking dinner (though she is a wonderful cook).
We would do like a pasta night, mexican night, etc. it did put some simplicity into it. For us the hardest thing is DECIDING WHAT IS FOR DINNER?! Once we decide 1/2 the battle is over. The focus menus help in that department.

[domestic goddess]

I never did too well with that kind of menu plan over the years, but now that I'm living in a household with more people, it might work better. I might give it a try, and see how things work out.

[Blackdog Lin]

While I don't do "themed" nights, I do usually do a weekly menu and it really does simplify my life. I'll make up a list of 5-6 supper menus, based on (1) what's in the sale ad; and (2) what is in the freezer that needs used; and (3) what leftovers may be around. I buy the groceries based on this rough menu list, which always includes 1 or 2 super-simple suppers, like tuna casserole or hamburgers-and-french fries, along with a couple that take more time, like a stir-fry that I need to cut and dice veggies.

Then in the morning I can pick a supper menu off my list, based on how busy the day is gonna be, and be relatively secure in knowing I have all the necessary groceries in the house for it. And this method still leaves room for being spontaneous.

[Miss Cellane]

My mom did something like this. Sunday was a roast. Monday was chicken. Tuesday was a casserole or pasta. Wednesday was something made from ground beef. Thursday was "minute steaks," whatever they were, and Friday was fish sticks and french fries. Saturday was hamburgers and hot dogs.

Mom had things down pretty well, so when there was a sale on chicken or ground beef, she'd stock up in a big way--we had a huge upright freezer for storage, plus a couple of bookcases for canned goods and other shelf stable food. And sometimes my parents would just buy a side of beef (we were a family of nine). So she pretty much just had to shop for the perishables weekly. In the summer, all the vegetables would come out of Dad's garden, so we ate what was ripe and ready that day, regardless of the rest of the menu.

Even if you have roast chicken every Sunday night, you can vary the vegetables and starches that you serve with it, so it's not exactly the same meal every week. And there are different things you can do to a roast chicken, lemon one week, rosemary the next. Or you can cut the chicken up and marinate it in something to change the flavor.

[Glo]

My DH and I grew up with these set menus. My mother used to vary Sundays; one week roast beef, next one fried chicken! Very boring way to eat. Dh and I decided we'd do things differently and we have. I don't think my mother and MIL liked to cook very much; DH and I love it!

[iris lily]

This isn't appealing to me, but I can see where it might be for some people. We don't grocery shop for specific meals, we keep the pantry stocked to always produce the variety of things I know how to cook. A few times each year I will purposely buy fixings for lasagne and make up a big batch of it to freeze. But otherwise, seldom do we buy specific ingrediants for specific dishes. Lasagne is so expensive that I don't always have all of the cheeses around on hand--the ricotta is perishable and the others are expensive.

[redfox]

When our kids were at home, we had stock meals we relied on, and though they weren't calendared, they were super easy and we always had the ingredients, as they were basic meals. Simple was always best! We got creative on weekends, as we both like to cook.

Now that it's just the 2 of us (oh so wonderful!), we spend a bit more, get some slightly more luxurious meats every so often, and spend a bit more time preparing complex and super good meals. And, we always have enough left over for lunches! Leftovers tended to disappear when we had 2 teens in the house... no matter how much we made, it all got consumed quickly.